Cleaning implement



Sept. 3, 1968 w. STETZ ETAL 3,399,499

CLEANING IMPLEMENT Filed July 19, 1967 INVENTORS: WILL IAM STETZ EAL WA NGIONE ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,399,499 CLEANING IMPLEMENT William Stetz, Watervliet, and Ralph J. Colangione, Troy,

N.Y., assignors to Norton Company, Troy, N.Y., a corporation of Massachusetts Filed July 19, 1967, Ser. No. 654,441 4 Claims. (Cl. 51-393) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A mop with abrasive scouring means mounted adjacent a mopping element and adapted to be attached to and by the clamping means secured to an elongated handle by manipulation of which the scouring means and the mopping element can be utilized to thoroughly clean a surface of undesirable substances.

Background of the invention (1) The invention pertains to multiple surface clean-s ing operations performed with a single implement. Specifically, it relates to a cleaning implement which can be used to scour a surface to quickly loosen dirt, grime, wax, etc., and then to mop up the loosened substances.

(2) Heretofore, various combinations of cleaning implements such as floor mops have been devised which include sponge, foam or fibrous mopping elements fixed to an elongated handle. In addition to the mopping element they have been provided with various types of squeegees, scrapers, brushes, fabric and metal wool elements which have not been entirely satisfactory in loosening accumulated wax, grime and other undesirable substances from heavily soiled surfaces. The scrapers will sometimes gouge and scratch the finish or base materials, and the brushes are slow and require repeated and sometimes fruitless scrubbing before the surface is properly cleaned.

Applicants invention overcomes all of the abovementioned disadvantages by providing in combination with a mopping element an abrasive scouring element, such providing a means for quick and positive removal of undesirable substances from the surface. The scouring element comprises a strip of abrasive material which is resilient, flexible, nonstaining, waterproof, extremely porous, substantially nonclogging, removable and washable for reuse, so supported by a back-up pad that a substantially flat area of the abrasive strip contacts and quickly loosens the substance without gouging or deeply scratching the. underlying surface.

Summary of the invention Briefly, the invention is a cleaning implement having a mopping element and an abrasive scouring element adjacent thereto attached between opposed releasable jaws of clamping means which are secured to an elongated handle for manipulating the implement. The scouring element includes a strip of abrasive material attached to and secured by the clamping means on at least one side of the mopping element, portions of which overlap the scouring element, whereby material loosened thereby is gathered up by the mopping element from which it can be removed in the well-known manner. The abrasive strip may be supported by contact with the mopping element but preferably is supported by a back-up pad of predetermined shape adjustably secured to the clamping means.

A principal object of the invention is to provide a cleaning implement with abrasive scouring means which quickly loosens and removes undesirable substances.

A further object is to provide a combined mopping and scouring implement with a removable flexible porous abrasive material supported by a substantially flat back- 3,399,499 Patented Sept. 3, 1968 up pad adjustably secured to the clamping means of the implement.

Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become apparent by reference to the specification, claims and the accompanying drawings.

Description of the drawings The invention is shown in the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of the cleaning implement with the scouring means in the inoperative position above the mopping element;

FIGURE 2 is a side elevation of the cleaning implement shown in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged partial sectional view of the mopping, scouring and clamping means taken on line 33 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a side elevation of the cleaning implement showing the scouring means in an operative position with the mopping element overlying the opposite side of the scouring means;

FIGURE 5 is a partial sectional side view of a modified form of the scouring means showing the abrasive material secured to one side of the back-up pad;

FIGURE 6 is a partial sectional side view of a modification of the back-up pad; and

FIGURE 7 is a partial sectional side view of the mopping element and scouring means without a back-up pad clamped between the jaws of the implement.

Description of the preferred embodiments Referring to the drawings wherein is shown a cleaning implement 10 which can be adapted for cleaning various types of surfaces such as floors, household utensils and wall surfaces. The implement 10 is provided with an elongated handle 12 by which an operator manipulates the implement. Adjacent to and about an end portion of the handle 12 is a reinforcing sleeve 14 having bosses 16 projecting out from opposite sides of the holes 13 through the walls thereof each aligned with a hole 11 extending through the end portion of the handle.

Clamping means comprising a pair of opposed jaws 20 and 30 at least one of which is movable, is pivotally mounted in the holes of the sleeve 14 on the handle 12. The jaws, as illustrated, are substantially rectangular but may be of other suitable construction.

As shown, each jaw is a continuous strip of semiflexible material, such as spring-tempered wire or the like formed into a loop. The end portion 22 and 32 of each loop of wire forming the jaws 20 and 30 is pivotally mounted in the hole 13 at opposite sides of the sleeve 14 and extend into the aligned hole 11 in the handle 12. Each wire continues around to opposite sides of the handle 12 where portions 24 and 34 make one or more turns 26 and 36 about the end portions 22 and 32 respectively which now act as pivot shafts about which one end of each loop rotates while its other end rotates in the sleeve 14. From the turns 26 and 36 the strips or wires continue up along opposite sides of the handle and form levers 28 and 38 having hook portions 28a and 38a engaging opposite sides of the handle. The lever 38 is longer than lever 28 and has a finger gripping portion 38b whereby the lever 38 may be engaged with or disengaged from the handle 12 when clamping or unclamping the jaw 30 about the mop head of a mopping element 40 between portions 20a and 30a of jaws 20 and 30 respectively.

The mopping element 40 may be of one of many conventional replaceable types which are commercially available, formed from bundled fibers, foam, sponge or cellular materials.

An abrasive scouring means or element 50 is provided for use in conjunction with'the mopping element 40. The scouring means may be any of the various embodiments shown in the drawing, but preferably it comprises a back-up pad 52 of predetermined shape which is adjustably fixed in a predetermined position to at least one of the jaws or 30, and a cooperating abrasive strip 60. As shown in FIGURE 3 the pad 52 is substantially a flat plate or strip of inflexible sheet material such as metal, plastic, etc., having a bend 54 intermediate its ends at an angle A of preferably from 90 to 130. At one end of the back-up pad 52 is any of a number of possible means for attaching it to a clamping jaw. As illustrated in FIGURE 3 one end of the pad is formed into a hinge-like portion 52:: snapped onto and clamped in the desired position to the portion 20a of the jaw 20 by a clamp screw '56. If desired, the back-up pad 52 may be allowed to pivot about the portion 20a by not tightening or eliminating'the screw 56. The pad 52 and the hinge portion 52c may be constructed of an integral piece of spring-like material which will clamp onto the jaw portion 20a without the aid of a fastener if desired. At the opposite end of the pad 52 is a turned up lip 52d which eliminates a sharp edge.

A continuous flexible strip 60 of abrasive material is wrapped about the back-up pad 52 with its ends overlapping and clamped in place between and by the jaws 20 and 30. Preferably the strip of porous abrasive material is formed of the material illustrated in U.S. Patent No. 3,020,139 to Camp et al. and hereinafter referred to as a nonwoven abrasive.

The preferred nonwoven abrasive strip 60 is easily compressible, resilient, lightweight, nonstaining, waterproof, easily cleaned, essentially nonclogging, reuseable and capable of maintaining good abrasive action for a long period of time without attention.

As shown in FIGURE 5, a modified scouring means may consist of an abrasive strip 70 which, instead of being wrapped about a back-up pad, is adhesively secured to one side of a back-up pad 72. The abrasive strip 70 may be provided with a pressure-sensitive adhesive which would allow easy replacement thereof or, alternatively, the entire scouring means may be replaced as a unit.

In FIGURE 6 the scouring device consists of an abrasive strip 80 wrapped about a substantially straight, flat back-up pad 82 of substantially inflexible material, such as hard rubber or the like. A hinge 84 pivotally connects one edge portion of the pad 82 to the portion 20a of jaw 20 and is fixed thereto at the desired angle by a clamp screw 86.

Referring to FIGURE 7, the abrasive strip 60 is shown with overlapped ends wrapped about the portion 20a of the jaw 20 whereby such ends are clamped between the mopping element and the jaw 20, and extend in a double layer adjacent the mopping element 40.

When assembling the cleaning implement described above, the portion 28a of lever 28 is disengaged from the handle and rotated to the dot-and-dash-line position 28b shown in FIGURE 2 whereby the jaw 20 is moved away from jaw 30. The back-up pad 52 is then attached to the portion 20a of the jaw and the portion 28a re-engaged with the handle to place the jaw 20 in a relatively fixed position. The implement is then rotated 180 to the position shown in FIGURE 4, placing the flat surface 52a of the back-up pad 52 substantially parallel to or against a flat surface. With the handle 12 held at the proper working angle from the surface, the clamp screw 56 is tightened securing the pad 52 in place. Next the relatively movable jaw 30 is moved away from the now fixed jaw 20 by unhooking the portion 38a from the handle and then rotating the lever to the dot-and-dash line position 380 shown in FIGURE 4. The abrasive strip 60 is then wrapped about the back-up pad 52 with its ends overlapping sufiiciently to be clamped. The head 'end of a mopping element 40 is then inserted sufficiently to overlie the overlapped ends and the jaw 30 moved into clamping engagement with the opposite side of the mop head by re-engaging the portion 38a of the lever 38 with the handle 12.

Once the back-up pad is fixed in place only the lever 38 need be operated to open jaw 30 for replacing or rearranging either the mopping element or the abrasive strip.

In utilizing the cleaning implement the scouring device is reciprocated in contact with the surface to be cleaned to first loosen the undesirable substance and the implement is then turned over to mop up the loosened substances by either dry or previously moistened elements of the mop, which overlie the scouring device, as shown in FIGURES 4, 5, 6 and 7.

It is apparent from the above description that the scouring device of the invention may be attached .to existing mopping or other cleaning implements as a separate attachment without interfering with the other implement thereon.

We claim:

1. A combination cleaning implement comprising:

(a) an elongated handle for manipulating the implement;

(b) a releasable clamping means located at one end of said handle;

(c) a mopping element secured to said handle by engagement in said clamping means; and

(d) a scouring element adjacent to and secured to said handle by engagement in said clamping means, said scouring element comprising a back-up pad of inflexible sheet material and an abrasive material on at least one side of said pad, said pad having at one end thereof means pivotably attaching the pad to said releasable clamping means.

2. Cleaning implement according to claim 1 wherein the back-up pad has a transverse bend intermediate its ends.

3. Cleaning implement as in claim 2 wherein the releasable clamping means comprises a pair of opposed jaws, at least one of which is moveable toward and away from the other jaw, and means for maintaining the moveable jaw in unclamped and clamped position relative to said other jaw whereby said mopping element and abrasive material can be inserted between said jaws and held therebetween during use.

4. Cleaning implement according to claim 1 wherein said abrasive material comprises a resilient, open, nonwoven web of relatively short fibers having substantial loft and a high proportion of internal voids, said fibers being bonded at their points of intersection by an elastomeric bonding adhesive, a harder, more rigid adhesive overlying said elastomeric adhesive and extending further than said bonding adhesive along the length of the fibers, and a plurality of abrasive grains distributed along said fibers and bonded thereto solely by said harder adhesive.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 732,744 7/1903 Held 15-115 2,196,365 4/1940 Schulman 15-1 15 XR 2,482,163 9/ 1949 Finnell 15-209 2,958,593 11/1960 Hoover et a1.

3,008,163 11/1961 Bommer 15-118 XR FOREIGN PATENTS 813,206 2/ 1937 France.

DANIEL BLUM, Primary Examiner. 

